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Saturday, May 5, 2012

"Cosmopolis" in "Fnac Contact" French Magazine - May 2012

"Cosmopolis" in "Fnac Contact" French Magazine - May 2012

Translation

Meeting with the Fnac – Cosmopolis

David Cronenberg

It was likely to be part of the 65th edition of the Cannes film festival, the new film by David Cronenberg, Cosmopolis, and the lead actor is Robert Pattinson. An unexpected but promising collaboration, where Twilight star portrays a multi-millionaire who drives through Manhattan in a high tech limousine , premise of a self-destructive odyssey.

David Cronenberg: The dialogues. Reading the book, I thought that I would love to hear from the lips of excellent actors. And from a cinamatographic point of view, it was a wonderful challenge to shoot in a limousine in motion. I asked my team to watch the films Das Boot and Lebanon, two films shot in secluded places . It’s quite liberating to have a scenic structure as rigorous as it requires rethinking the traditional approach of cinema, not only regarding the movement of the camera but also regarding the choreography of acting.

Contact Fnac: The choice of Robert Pattinson to play Eric Packer surprised the media. Yet this makes sense.

David Cronenberg: Casting is an occult art. This is something enormously important work as a director. You can kill your film, even before the shooting, by bad casting choice.s And yet there are no instructions to guide you. I felt that Robert Pattinson had the required the charisma to embody a strangely neurotic , powerful and yet immature man, who evolves in front of us during the odyssey that occurs through the film. Eric is not a lovable character, and I needed an actor who is not afraid of that. But he is also fascinating, hypnotic, and these are qualities that an actor possesses or lacks. Robert has them.

Fnac Contact: Power, alienation, self-destruction … Would you say that Eric Packer is close to your previous characters?

David Cronenberg: The brilliant and self-destructive characters are my favorites. They give off such an aura, and the shock is so instructive, if not entertaining. I am perpetually curious, and sometimes shocked, by our attitudes as humans, and by the human condition in general.

Contact Fnac: You ised to be snubbed by the Cannes audience, and then you finish as Jury President. What has changed?

David Cronenberg: It took some time before the critics and part of the audience understood what I was trying to do. This is why it is important to have a long career, since your previous films highlight the first, and with the fullness of time, the specter of your work becomes like a little universe that makes sense for everyone : a creative sense of the month.

Robert Pattinson

Contact Fnac: What was your first reaction when you were offered the role of Eric Packer?

Robert Pattinson: I had read the script a year ago and I thought I hadabsolutely no chance of getting a role in the film,not to mention Eric’s part . And when David (Cronenberg) called me, out of the blue , I was more than surprised! It was clearly one of the most exciting and demanding projects that I could read.

Contact Fnac: You said that your experience on the set was kind of ‘crazy’. What do you mean exactly?

Robert Pattinson: I couldn’t compared it to anything I have done before. The script included some really unusual stylistic ideas and I think nobody really knew how to approach this type of material. You know, it’s rare to work with a director who allows his film to evolve at this point, organically.

Contact Fnac: Are there any other filmmakers you would like to work with ?

Robert Pattinson: There are too many to mention everyone . But there are French directors including Jacques Audiard, for example, who made quite exceptional films